Chinese idiom · 成语
鹬蚌相争
Meaning
The snipe and clam fight; a third party benefits from others’ conflict.
Character by character
鹬snipe (bird)
蚌clam
相mutual
争fight, compete
Origin and story
From Strategies of the Warring States (Zhàn guó cè). A snipe and clam fought, and a fisherman caught both, showing mutual loss in disputes.